Writing Contests, Grants & Awards

The Writing Contests, Grants & Awards database includes details about the creative writing contests—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, and more—that we’ve published in Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it. Ours is the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.

Four prizes of $500 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a first novel, a book of fiction, and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) by an African American writer published in...

A prize of $500 and publication on the Society of Classical Poets website is given annually for a group of three to five poems on a theme. One poem must address human rights in China, terrorism, or the...

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by BkMk Press are given annually for a poetry collection and a short story collection. Submit a manuscript of 50 to 110 pages of poetry or 125 to 300 pages of...

A prize of $1,000, publication by Gival Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Submit a manuscript of at least 45 pages with a $20 entry fee by December 15. Send an SASE,...

Prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for books of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation published in the previous year by authors residing west of the Mississippi River. The winners...